9/30/2013 Blog Tour

Psalm 23 "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

First off, thanks to my God for His everlasting consolation and salvation through Christ.

I want to thank my writing friend, Joan Y. Edwards http://joanyedwards.wordpress.com/2013/09/22/blog-tour/ for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour. I also want to thank her for helping me be the writer I am today and for introducing me to http://www.4rvpublishing.com/

If it weren't for Joan, I would not have my book: Sure Mercies: Hope for the Suffering undergoing edits for publication next spring (May or June, 2014). The Lord did direct my path, just like He did for David in Psalm 23. I would like to tell you a little bit about me and my book in this blog tour post.

1. I started writing as a child. I never thought of myself as a writer though. I did have stories in my head but did not always get them onto paper. One of the stories remains with me today. I guess I should get around to writing it. I remember one thing that encouraged me with my writing as a child. One summer, our library had a little writing contest for children. We were to read the book Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski. I liked the book because of its story line and its pretty illustrations by the author. We were to write a book report about it. I won the contest that summer and received a "Snoopy" statue as a result. Growing up, I did not receive many rewards. I was just slightly above average in schoolwork. So, winning that small contest meant a lot to me. I never thought that it indicated I could have promise as a writer.

2. In high school, I wrote poems about things that affected my life. One of the poems was about my paternal grandmother. I only saw her once a year and "goodbyes" were always difficult because I never knew if she would be around the following year. My poem was called "Wise Old Grandmother" and was published in our high school literary magazine, along with one or two more of my poems.

She is in the picture below, with my Dad and Grandpa. I wrote about the values I saw in her: hard work,sacrifice, and a simple lifestyle.

3. When I went off to college, I ignored my stronger abilities and chose a career in the nursing field because I wanted to help people. It never occurred to me that possibly I could help people through writing instead. Although I loved interacting with my different patients, the medical part was not really for me. I managed to get my bachelor's, but when I married and began having children, I was glad to stay home with them.

4. I home taught my children and in the process, discovered many wonderful books that I had missed as a child. Reading aloud to my kids became a priority and one son claims he still sees some of the stories in his mind. That is when I discovered the wonderful world of children's literature.

5. About eight years ago, when my last child was entering high school, I signed up for the Institute of Children's Literature course, Writing for Children and Teenagers. When I graduated with my Basic diploma and had one of my stories published, I was recommended for the Advanced, Book Writer course. And that is how my book Sure Mercies was born. With the help of my instructor, I came up with an idea to write about my favorite Bible character, David. I always had loved David's Psalms. They helped me through the rough times of growing up and especially as a teenager. My sister got me a fascinating autobiography of David by F. B. Meyer. I wanted to tell more about these Psalms. I also loved reading about heroes of the faith. I came up with 40 of David's Psalms and a person to fit each one of them. In my stories I explained how each person overcame some difficulty in their life and exemplified a portion of that Psalm in that way. Some of the heroes were from modern days, but some in early church history as well. They spanned across the whole church age. I ended up putting a timeline at the end to show how their lives intertwined amongst themselves, one influencing the other like a stack of dominoes. I also put in a study guide for further contemplation on Scripture, and a Scripture index and resource guide. I wanted my readers to understand that not only the Psalms, but the whole Word of God directly fit together as the Ultimate Guide Book for our lives. My audience was originally for teenagers, because I remembered how difficult adolescence was for me personally. I wanted to show Jesus Christ is the best friend we can ever have. It ended up that this book will be appropriate also for adults. I want to reach as many people as possible with the message that in Christ there is hope for the bleakest situation. It is never too late as long as you have breath.

6. I have been extremely blessed to find 4RV Publishing, who was willing to take a chance on a first time author. In addition, I found a wonderful editor (who lived within walking distance) who helped me get my manuscript ready for submission to 4RV. Friends within my critique group believed in my book and helped me to carry on when I was ready to give up. My family cheered me on, with my husband, Kevin, the biggest helper of all. Now, I am hoping to write many more books. I love to write about the LORD and His love, but also have a funny side and enjoy writing about my cat Missy (aka "Super Cat") and her antics. I worked with children of varying ages for about nine years. My own children and the kids I cared for helped fuel my imagination for other children's stories and poems as well.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog. I recently began a new blog specifically about kids and adult books. It is my hope to direct you to great reads on there. I encourage you to stop by there as well. Come on over and also see me at: http://meganvance.wordpress.com/